New sensors mounted to bee 'backpacks' track conditions, crop health

And they're efficient, since bees don't require battery power to fly

Computer scientists and engineers at the University of Washington have created a sensor package that is small enough to ride aboard a bumblebee. Credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington

Computer scientists and engineers at the University of Washington have created a sensor package that is small enough to ride aboard a bumblebee. Credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington

Photo: Mark Stone/University Of Washington

Photo: Mark Stone/University Of Washington

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Computer scientists and engineers at the University of Washington have created a sensor package that is small enough to ride aboard a bumblebee. Credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington

Computer scientists and engineers at the University of Washington have created a sensor package that is small enough to ride aboard a bumblebee. Credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington

Photo: Mark Stone/University Of Washington

New sensors mounted to bee 'backpacks' track conditions, crop health

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Researchers have developed backpacks for bumblebees to help farmers collect data about their crops.

Farmers can already check temperature, humidity and crop health using drones. So why the switch to bumblebees wearing backpacks?

It's a matter of efficiency, according to a blog post by the University of Washington.

"Drones can fly for maybe 10 or 20 minutes before they need to charge again, whereas our bees can collect data for hours," Shyam Gollakota, senior author and an associate professor in the UW's Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, said in the post. "We showed for the first time that it's possible to actually do all this computation and sensing using insects in lieu of drones."

Since bees don't require battery power to fly, only a small battery is needed to power the sensors.

That's not to say the system doesn't have its own logistical complications. To start, bugs can't carry around much weight, so the system needs to be small. Second, a GPS system would use too much battery power.

To combat these concerns, the backpacks weigh 102 milligrams, or about the weight of seven raw grains of rice. The battery takes up the majority of that weight at 70 milligrams.

Additionally, a system was developed with a non-GPS system to track the bee's locations. Antennas were erected that broadcast a signal in a specific area. Rather than broadcasting their location, the technology on board the bumblebees receive the antennas' broadcasts, which can triangulate on the bug's position.

Bumblebees were prime candidates to wear these backpacks.

"We decided to use bumblebees because they're large enough to carry a tiny battery that can power our system, and they return to a hive every night where we could wirelessly recharge the batteries," co-author Vikram Iyer, a doctoral student in the UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, said in the post.

At night, when the bees are in their hive and the backpack is charging, collected data is also uploaded. The backpacks can store about 30 kilobytes of data.

Eventually, researchers want to develop backpacks with cameras that can livestream data to researchers and farmers, according to UW.